Prospects from the Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning will be participating
It's an exciting time for hockey fans in South Florida.
Yes, it's still mid-September, but this year the 2023 Southeast Hockey Showcase is being held in Estero, bringing the top prospects from four NHL teams, including the Florida Panthers, to Hertz Arena.
Joining Florida in the showcase are top youngsters from the Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes and Nashville Predators.
Each team will play the three others over the course of four days, starting on Friday when Nashville faces Tampa Bay at 4 p.m. following by the Panthers and Hurricanes playing at 7 p.m.
On Saturday, Carolina plays Tampa Bay at 3 p.m. and then the Panthers and Predators skate in the nightcap at 6 p.m.
Sunday is a practice day with no games, but then on Monday the showcase wraps up with Nashville and Carolina in the 10 a.m. brunch battle. Cross-state rivals Florida and Tampa Bay close out the shindig with a 1 p.m. matinee.
To help get you ready for the hockey weekend extravaganza, THN Florida is collaborating with the team sites for Nashville, Tampa and Carolina to bring you three players to watch from each squad.
Next up we’ve got the three Lightning prospect to watch, written by Diandra Loux from THN Tampa Bay.
Hugo Alnefelt- There really isn’t a ton of goalie conversation in Tampa. With Andrei Vasilevskiy in net, the Lightning are set for the foreseeable future. However, they would love to lock down a solid backup who can take on a portion of the workload, especially leading up to the playoffs. For that reason alone, I’m including Hugo Alnefelt in my list of players to watch.
Alnefelt is a Swedish goaltender and third round pick from the 2019 draft. He’s a solid prospect who has really started to find his stride in net for the Syracuse Crunch.
Jack Thompson- Jack Thompson is right on track. He’s coming off a solid rookie season with Syracuse and should definitely be a name to watch for Lightning fans moving forward.
Thompson can put up points from the blue line, but he’s also a responsible player in his own end. That’s always going to be important with the Tampa Bay Lightning. His versatility adds to his value. Whatever he’s asked to do with the puck, he can do seamlessly.
And if you’re into knowing who prospects model their game after, Thompson has said that playing alongside Darren Raddysh helped him understand what it takes to be successful in the AHL and earn a promotion to the NHL. I think we’ll see him crack a roster spot sooner rather than later.
Lucas Edmonds- Lucas Edmonds had a consistent rookie year in Syracuse with 27 points in 49 games. The Lightning had him on their radar for a few seasons, but Edmonds wasn’t initially drafted because they weren’t satisfied with his results in Sweden.
He eventually played at almost every level in Sweden, earning a spot on the National team. Edmonds spent most of his time on the second line, but he really benefited from playing on the power play. He has consistent shooting abilities, but what stands out most are his puck skills and physicality. He delays, beats a player, spins back around, and then tries again.
For an organization that makes culture a priority, he’s got the personality side down as well. Former director of amateur scouting, Al Murray laid it out by simply by saying “He’s a bolt”.
